Advocacy News

At the end of June, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance preventing a landlord from subscribing to, contracting with or exchanging anything of value in return for coordinating services (described below). While some are framing the legislation as a complete ban on algorithmic... Continue Reading

After months of advocacy, engagement, and strong collaboration with our members and coalition partners, EHB 1217 has been signed into law. We fought hard and secured meaningful improvements, but the final bill represents a setback for housing in Washington. It creates more risk and less... Continue Reading

The Washington Supreme Court issued a huge victory to the Washington residential landlord community in today’s decision in Housing Authority of King County v. Knight.   The Court held tenants residing in covered residential properties (where tenant’s rent is subsidized or a... Continue Reading

The new 2025 Utility Estimates have been published by Seattle Housing Authority, which has historically been updated every few years. (OH) has published the new 2025 Renter’s Insurance Estimates obtained from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner for Washington State. These updates will... Continue Reading

Yesterday, February 6, despite some weather difficulties for our members, 180 WMFHA members and staff gathered at the Capitol in Olympia for our annual Day on the Hill to meet with 81 legislators or their staff, including the Lieutenant Governor of Washington. Together, we advocated for the... Continue Reading

Your WMFHA Advocacy Team is excited to announce the formation of a new coordinated advocacy and grassroots lobbying campaign to fight against HB 1217 and SB 5222 (rent cap legislation) in Olympia this session. BuildUp Washington is a partnership between WMFHA, NAIOP Washington, and many... Continue Reading

The November election results coupled with Governor Bob Ferguson’s cabinet appointments launched a scramble, particularly in King County, to fill many vacancies at the state legislature and one on the King County Council. Notable changes include Rep. Emily Alvarado advancing from the House... Continue Reading

Our advocacy team recently had the opportunity to present in front of Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck’s transition committee on housing. The Lt Governor has been tasked with briefing new Governor Bob Ferguson on the current housing landscape and the most pressing housing issues facing our... Continue Reading

The 2025 legislative session is finally here, and it's going to be an exciting 105 days of action! We’re kicking things off strong, and we need YOU to help us make this session a success. Each week, we’ll send out a recap to keep you in the loop and fired up about the progress... Continue Reading

Carter's City Council testimony is below: Good Evening, Mayor Millman, and members of the council. Thank you for allowing me to speak tonight. My name is Carter Nelson, and I am speaking on behalf of the Washington Multi-Family Housing Association. We represent over 347,000 rental units in the... Continue Reading

At a virtual roundtable on October 30, WMFHA Advocacy staff gave an overview of the “new” unlawful detainer process in King County. In addition to the brief overview and current state of the process, the majority of the roundtable was dedicated to getting feedback from members about... Continue Reading

Now that the election is over and we know the makeup of the legislature, we can start to look ahead to the 2025 legislative session. Although how things play out will depend on committee structure and assignments in the House and Senate, to be decided in a few weeks during organization, we do... Continue Reading